Children can be left momentarily in a vehicle or can be playing inside a vehicle, while the vehicle is parked or while the vehicle is in some type of non-driving mode of operation. The children are often able to release seatbelts such that they are able to move within a passenger compartment area. Sometimes these children are able to insert a key within a vehicle ignition or are able to activate other types of vehicle systems by using keyless entry. This could have unfortunate consequences.
If a child is playing inside a vehicle and manages to activate a window closing mechanism for example, the child could have a head, neck, arm, fingers, or other body parts pinched between a moving window pane and a vehicle frame member. This could cause serious injury to the child.
Many different anti-pinch control systems have been proposed to address this problem. These systems often do not work effectively to provide desired window movement control under various different operational conditions. One proposed solution reduces a pinch detection threshold for a motor that raises a window under certain conditions. The motor is monitored through a set of parameters such that a determination can be made when to reverse motion when a critical threshold is achieved. These parameters cover a wide range of vehicle operating conditions including ignition on/off, vehicle stationary/moving, high/low temperature, smooth/rough road surfaces, etc. This wide range of vehicle operating conditions leads to a very conservative set of parameters so that there are no unexpected reversals of movement. This conservative set of parameters works contrary to providing reduced pinching forces for preventing injury to vehicle occupants. In other words, if a less conservative set of parameters were used in an attempt to reduce potential injury, a vehicle operator may be dissatisfied with operation of the powered member under many different operating conditions.
Another proposed solution is to reduce raising speed of the window under certain conditions. The slow speed reduces the amount of window travel between pinching detection and actual window movement reversal. Reduced raising speed can be applied when the vehicle is stationary, for example. However, a vehicle operator may view such slow movement of the window as a potential system failure.
Thus, there is a need for a simple and effective method to adjust anti-pinch parameters without adversely affecting operational performance.